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· Opinion/Surveys
· Smokefree Policies
non-USA, by Country
· Taiwan
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Jump to full article: The China Post (tw), 2009-03-22
Author: Interviews by Trista di Genova, The China Post
Intro: BEN: I think it's not a good idea. I appreciate the concept, but I think it really almost infringes on people's rights to do something such as smoke if they so desire. I'm not a smoker myself, but if I go into a bar I have no problem whatsoever with people smoking. In this way, I think they've gone too far.
It's true in America that smoking bans are more stringent. . . .
NINA: I don't really see any difference. You can smoke everywhere; even the pubs I go to have smoking in them. I've never seen anybody get a ticket for it, and I've never been harassed. I've asked my friends here, and no one else seems to notice any difference [after the smoking ban took effect]. I quit smoking in October after smoking 10 years, because I don't really like it and for health reasons.
Out of all the places I've been, I've never seen smoking so deeply engrained in the culture. They haven't banned smoking, so much as littering. Outside of a bar, a few Asian guys taught me that the police can't fine you if you don't leave any litter.
They didn't do it right back home, either. In Canada, you'll never go to the bar now; you might as well watch it at someone's house -- there's cheaper beer and you can smoke.
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